Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, said her son was pulled over by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents operating in the state as part of a Trump-ordered crackdown on migrants.
Omar revealed the incident during an interview with local station WCCO. Omar said the incident happened when her son stopped at a local Target and was let go after he produced his passport as ID. The congresswoman also said that ICE agents had previously entered a mosque where her sons and others were praying, but nothing else occurred.
Omar said she had to remind her son how worried she is about the current anti-immigrant situation, adding, “they are racially profiling, they are looking for young men who look Somali that they think are undocumented.”
The Trump administration launched a federal immigration operation against Minnesota after Trump had a racist tirade about not wanting Somalis in America. In the middle of this bigoted meltdown, Trump personally targeted Omar, referring to her as “garbage.”
Omar told the local station it is “disturbing” and “creepy” to “have the president of the United States be obsessed with you.”
“I know that he is deflecting from the failures of his presidency,” Omar added. “He’d rather scapegoat us than answer for why people can’t afford their lives, why he has not fulfilled his promise of not creating a more affordable America.”
On Friday, Omar sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding a series of answers on the Minnesota operation, noting it has led to “widespread racial profiling, unlawful arrests of U.S. citizens, excessive force, and violations of constitutional rights.”
“It is clear to me that this surge came in direct response to Trump’s racist comments about Somali people, and about me in particular,” she wrote.
These overt displays of power and roundups of innocent people have become a hallmark of the Trump administration. While Trump and others in his senior orbit have tried to characterize immigration as a crime issue, ordinary families are facing the bulk of the disruption.
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The administration has been using harsh tactics and payoffs to local governments to help meet deportation goals that align with Trump’s campaign rhetoric. Even if that means human rights abuses.
Under Speaker Mike Johnson, Congress has provided little to no oversight of Trump. The immigration enforcement operation is being directed by Trump’s racism and xenophobia, with ordinary residents caught in the crossfire.
